It may just be a smattering of coincidental facts whose convergence will be difficult if not impossible to decipher, and these days there are signs that the mainstream media is so solidly behind Barack Obama that it's almost assured they'll never look into this, but there are several items popping up on my radar this weekend relating to Obama and some of his campaign contributors and advisers, and ties back to Syria, Islamic fundamentalism, and the Nation of Islam, that are puzzling enough to put out there for discussion.

Item #1: Long-time Barack Obama supporter and campaign insider Tony Rezko was born in Syria and raised among Muslims.

Rezko traveled the world for five years putting together business and real estate deals for famed-boxer Muhammed Ali.

On Friday, March 6, 1964, Malcolm X took Clay on a guided tour of the United Nations building (for a second time). Malcolm X announced that Clay would be granted his "X." That same night, Elijah Muhammad recorded a statement over the phone to be played over the radio that Clay would be renamed Muhammad (one who is worthy of praise) Ali (fourth rightly guided caliph).

Elijah Muhammad led the Black Muslim and Nation of Islam movement in the United States from 1934 to 1975.

Law enforcement sources believe that Rezko may be in his native Syria. He is know to have investments, real estate holdings and relatives in metro Damascus, the capital of the Middle Eastern nation where Tony Rezko was born.

A foreign policy adviser to Senator Obama is scheduled to arrive in Syria today as the leader of a RAND Corp. delegation.

Zbigniew Brzezinski will travel to Damascus for meetings as part of a trip Syria's official Cham News agency described as an "important sign that the end of official dialogue between Washington and Damascus has not prevented dialogue with important American intellectuals and politicians."

Item #5: Brzezinski was President Jimmy Carter's national security adviser during the time that the ayatollahs rose to power, and was in office when Iran became an anti-western Islamic state. Brzeninski saw no threat in this.

On February 2, 1979, Brzezinski wrote a memo to the president claiming that Islamic fundamentalism was not an imminent threat and would not gain prominence in the Middle East.

Brzezinski, known for his hardline policies on the Soviet Union, initiated in 1979 a campaign supporting mujaheddin in Pakistan and Afghanistan [...] This policy had the explicit aim of promoting radical Islamist and anti-Communist forces to overthrow the secular communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan government in Afghanistan[...]

Item #7: In 2005 Tony Rezko's company Rezmar partnered on a deal to build a nuclear power plant in Iraq.

Rezmar Corp., a real estate development company controlled by Tony Rezko, a controversial confidant of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, entered into a joint venture with a British firm in a $150-million deal to build a power plant in Iraq.

Item #8: Tony Rezko's Rezmar Corporation has been implicated in the FBI investigation of Rezko.

In one case, sources said, {FBI Mole John Thomas] told authorities he saw a Rezmar employee pass an envelope with a visible wad of bills to an unidentified [Illinois Governor] Blagojevich aide.[...] Sources said Thomas also logged frequent visits to Rezko from Gov. Blagojevich and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

At this point these facts are nothing more than pieces of a puzzle.

Maybe the Tony Rezko trial, with jury selection set to begin March 3rd, will help put these pieces of the puzzle together. The trial is expected to last at least three months.

Sidebar: Tony Rezko apparently has ties back to neocon circles as well.

Rezko cochaired a major fundraiser for President Bush's campaign in 2003.

Puzzling... If Rezko is raising money for Bush then obviously Rezko isn't supporting Obama because he supports liberal causes -- liberals don't raise money for Bush -- so what is the quid pro quo for Rezko in supporting Obama? What did he get in return?

James Bone and Dominic Kennedy reported February 25, 2008, in the The Times (UK) that on May 23, 2005--just three weeks before Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Rita Rezko, the wife of indicted political fixer Antoin "Tony" Rezko, closed on their same-day real estate deals on June 15, 2005--Fintrade Services SA, a Panamanian company related to Iraqi billionaire businessman Nadhmi Auchi, "lent" $3.5 million to Tony Rezko.

Bone and Kennedy wrote that their investigation "raises the question of whether funds from Nadhmi Auchi, one of Britain's wealthiest men, helped Mr Obama buy his mock Georgian mansion in Chicago."

It is unclear how Mrs Rezko could have afforded the downpayment of $125,000 and a $500,000 mortgage for the original $625,000 purchase of the garden plot at 5050 South Greenwood Ave.

And now for a few trivia questions...

Bonus Trivia Question #1: Leo Strauss, widely considered by many to be the one of the top founding father of the neoconservative movement in the United States, was a Political Science professor from 1949-1969 at what prominent American University?

Answer: The University of Chicago.

Bonus Trivia Question #2: Barack Obama is a Senior Lecturer (on leave) at what the law school at what prominent American University?

Answer: The University of Chicago.

Note:Wizbang Blue is now closed and our authors have moved on. Paul Hooson can now be found at Wizbang Pop!. Please come see him there!

Comments (8)

Steve Crickmore:

Maybe Retzco went to Trinity United Church of Christ, where Obama has been member for over 20 by years ministered by his personal friend Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.

Wright conducted Obama's marriage to his wife Michelle, baptized his two daughters, and blessed Obama's Chicago home. Obama's best-selling book, "The Audacity of Hope," takes its title from one of Wright's sermons

And it is probably true that Obama was under a Straussian influence, but that would be David Strauss, an editor of the The Supreme Court Law Review and Wyatt Professor at the University of Chicago Law School, a well-know 'progressive theorist' who has argued that judicial activism can be narrowly defined as one or more of three possible things:

-overturning laws as unconstitutional
-overturning judicial precedent
-ruling against a preferred interpretation of the constitution.

Strauss was the only professoron the faculty who had better student reviews than Obama, which were generally glowing. Very few people know their way around "the constitution and bible" better than Obama" or take them more seriously.

If some people want to lay out is life on paper as the Manchurian/Muslim candidate, they are in for a big surprise.

What are you trying to say? That this Strauss guy taught at the same University up until Barack was 8 years old and living on the other side of the planet in Indonesia?

Those are trivia questions, nutty, as was stated in the post. I'm sure it's just a coincidence, and after all - Obama has a solid liberal voting record.

I do wonder about this slime Rezko who supports both Republicans and Democrats in his fundraising efforts.

Maybe Rezko was just serving his own financial interests in all of these political dealings, which explains why he'd support both Republicans and Democrats, in which case you have to wonder what was "in it" for Rezko to support Obama?

So what was the "deal" that compelled Rezko to support Obama? What was the quid pro quo?

Or was there a political reason that a fundraiser who supports President Bush started fundraising for Barack Obama? Curious, no?

As to the rest of the post, I listed facts, not conclusions, leaving the conclusions to others who choose to dig deeper. As is said in the post, these are facts "that are puzzling enough to put out there for discussion."

You attacked me rather than discuss the facts. Feel free to address the post and drop the ad hominem attacks any time, and then we can discuss it further.

I read every thing and followed every link and at this point I am wondering what Brzezinski visit abroad on February 2, 1979 and Muhammad Ali have to do with Barack Obama. There very well might be something but what? This sounds more like a string of repetition of garbage, innuendo, and nonsense.

I think everyone is taking Obama's connection with Rezko too lightly. I hope someone looks into this matter before it's too late & he's in the white house! This country has been through enough! We don't need a crook in the white house, or a Muslim either!
There seems to be much going on for it to be just a coincidence here! When does it stop being just a coincidence? I say investigate, because it's better to be safe then sorry!

Kathy, a federal special prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, the same one who nailed Scooter Libby, is investigating the case and has not named Obama yet. Do you think he is prejudiced in favor of Obama? You are taking your conspiracy theory a bit too far. As you say, "This country has been through enough!" But you elected the bums who have been running the country into the ground. For your information, Rezko was a fun-raiser for George Bush, that's right.... The current President of the United States. The man says he is not Muslim... But so what if he is? Educate yourself... don't take everything some idiot writes as fact.

I'm suspicious and think there is something to the Obama, Rezko, Blagojevich and NOI connection. Blago appointed a black muslim woman named Sis. C.M. Muhammad to the Gov.'s Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes. Why would anyone appoint someone from an anti-semitic, anti-white group to the such a commission? One word: Rezko. According to the NYT, Obama now admits that he took over $250K in additional funds from Rezko. What did Rezko get from Obama? Not to mention that some have suggested that Obama himself had NOI campaign staffers.

Listen, on Sunday mornings this country (America) is one of the most segregated days for Blacks and Whites in this country --- not excluding other races. We all know this. I personally don't feel welcome in so-called white church's; because they don't extend their arms to me and welcome me to come to their church on Sunday morning. Therefore, on Sunday we (African-Americans) are relegated to our own church's in our own neighborhoods. I believe that many African-American pastors are older and more likely to have experiences of racism linked to the 40's, 50's, 60's and beyond. Similar to the comments and rhetorical remarks of Geraldine Ferraro the other day about race. Senator Barack Obama hasn't been invited to white church's if you will and if someone would invite him I'm sure he'd attend. The invitation has to be extended to other races. Therefore, having Choices on Sunday morning's to attend other congregations. Allowing all of us to learn and worship together. Spiritually speaking this is the way that it should be and the way Christian's are suppose to welcome all races, creeds and colors to praise the Lord on Sunday.